My previous ones have all been male

I don't know if this is true of most females, but Ember is less territorial than the males were.

The cat before Ember was Leo, an orange male tabby. He was so affectionate that I nicknamed him Mr. Love. But he was also very territorial. If he was curled on the couch end whee I usually sat, he would not budge. He pushed back at any attempts to move him.

There is one kitchen chair where I often sit when reading a book or posting online. It's more convenient than my desk chair since the desk is cluttered. Also close to the fridge for snacks.

When I was away from that chair, Leo used to curl up on it. When I returned to the chair, he wrapped his paws around the seat to avoid being moved. Sometimes when I was seated there, Leo decided that it was his turn to have the chair. He would jump onto it behind me and push hard against my back with his whole body, trying to dislodge me.

When he lost that battle for the chair, he just sat on a chair that was at the end of the table and perpendicular to mine. Then he reached a paw under the table to touch my leg, as if to confirm that we were still friends.

Ember is just the opposite. When I approach the couch where she is spread out she immediately leaps down to yield it to me. Same with the chair.

Like when you would return to "your" chair, he had made it "his", even wrapping his paws AROUND THE SEAT! Talk about territorial!

But Ember seems more agreeable. What a pair!

Thank for bringing a chuckle to my day.

Leo was so talkative that when I was on the phone, I had to shut myself in another room because Leo kept trying to join the conversation.

Ember is so quiet that she goes for several months without a single meow. She communicates with body language and by calling my attention to her in a variety of ways, like knocking things to the floor (which Leo never did).

Completely different temperaments.

It was quite an adjustment for me when Ember came into my life. Her lively, silent mischief helped me get over my grief when Leo died.

Leo gripping the chair seat by wrapping his paws around it. One time I tried to get him to let go by tipping the chair almost upside down. Did not work. He just dug his claws into the chair cushion and hung there.

feline courtesy behind Leo's behavior.

I came across an online article about how cats in a multiple cat household handle territorial issues. They develop a system of owning certain areas at different times of the day.

I live by myself, so Leo was the only other living creature in my apartment. Dogs regard themselves as part of the human pack, but cats view their humans as part of the cat colony. So, in Leo's mind I was a very rude cat who did not abide by proper feline etiquette because I hogged certain spaces too often and too long. He was trying to assert his rights and teach me etiquette.

"No one knows how a cat's mind works. They make of us a captive audience to the absurdly sublime. All we can do is watch in awe and disbelief as they twist into knots all we think we know about them and reality. They are truly the masters of the universe."

Only it says "the house" instead of "this house." And it has a different cat on it.

...to a prewarmed seat.